India's Power Generation Capacity: 156 GW Under Construction

New Delhi, Feb 6 (PTI) Around 156 gigawatt (GW) of new power generation capacity is underworks -- including 103 GW of renewables, 26 GW of thermal, 18 GW of hydro and 8 GW of nuclear energy, said Union Power Minister RK Singh.

"Total 156 GW of Capacity is under construction, and the total anticipated capacity addition by 2031-2032 will be 469 GW," a power ministry statement quoted Singh as saying.

Talking about the government's effort to ensure an uninterrupted power supply for the nation's growth, the minister in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha said the anticipated power generation capacity addition is 469 GW between 2023 to 2032.

The minister stated that 26,380 MW of thermal capacity is under construction, 11,960 MW has been bid out and 19,050 MW is under clearance. The total anticipated thermal capacity addition by 2031-2032 will be 93,380 MW.

Another 18,033.5 MW of hydro capacity (including stalled projects) is under construction, and the total anticipated Hydro capacity addition by 2031-2032 will be 42,014 MW.

Besides, 8,000 MW of nuclear capacity is under construction, and the total anticipated Nuclear capacity addition by 2031-2032 will be 12,200 MW and 1,03,660 MW of renewable energy capacity is also currently under construction, and the anticipated RE capacity addition by 2031-32 will be 3,22,000 MW, Singh said.

The minister said 1,89,052 circuit kilometres (ckm) of transmission lines, 6,88,142 MVA of Transformation capacity and 80,590 MW of inter-regional capacity have been added, connecting the whole country into one grid running on one frequency with the capability of transferring 1,16,540 MW from one corner of the country to another.

The transmission plan for integration of 5,00,000 MW RE capacity by 2030 is being implemented in a phased manner, commensurate with RE capacity addition. At present, about 1,79,000 MW of non-fossil fuel generation capacity is already integrated.

Singh also informed the house that nearly 88,000 households of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) will be provided electricity under the PM JANMAN Mission.

This scheme will cover the electrification of all un-electrified PVTG households by the provision of off-grid solar systems, where electricity supply through the grid is not techno-economically feasible.

In addition, the scheme has provision for providing solar lighting in 1,500 Multi-Purpose Centres (MPCs) in the PVTG area, where electricity through the grid is not available. A total financial outlay of Rs 515 crore has been provided under the scheme.